Tesla faces mounting challenges as European sales slump and leadership shake-up continues
Tesla is confronting a challenging start to 2026 as slowing electric vehicle (EV) deliveries, particularly in Europe, continue to reshape its growth narrative and prompt a strategic refresh of its global sales leadership.
European sales decline accelerates
Recent data show Tesla’s European sales slump has persisted into the new year, continuing a multi-year decline in key markets. Across several major European countries, new vehicle registrations fell sharply in January 2026 compared with the same period last year, with declines of more than 42% reported in France and even steeper drops of 67% in the Netherlands and a staggering 88% in Norway.
Registration figures in multiple early-reporting markets were down roughly 44% year-on-year (YoY), highlighting Tesla’s struggle to maintain momentum as local incentives faded and competition intensified.
In the United Kingdom (UK), new registrations sank by more than 57% in January, with just 647 vehicles delivered – while Chinese rival BYD nearly doubled its volume on the same roads.
This trend has played out against broader context in which Volkswagen also overtook Tesla as Europe’s top EV seller in 2025, underscoring that Tesla is losing share in markets where EV demand overall continues to grow.
Leadership restructuring aims to revive sales
In response to these ongoing headwinds and as part of a broader effort to arrest the slide, Tesla has elevated Joe Ward, its Vice President for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), to a global sales leadership role.
According to a Bloomberg report, Ward will now oversee Tesla’s worldwide sales, service and delivery operations, reflecting an executive reorganisation aimed at reinvigorating sales strategy amid mounting competitive pressures. Ward has led Tesla’s EMEA operations for over five years and now assumes responsibility for shaping global sales execution across diverse markets.
The leadership revamp occurs amid broader executive turnover at Tesla. Veteran executive Raj Jegannathan departed the company recently after a short stint leading sales and service functions, following earlier exits of other senior figures. His departure, coming as Tesla grapples with both operational challenges and a complicated competitive landscape, adds to investor scrutiny over execution away from product innovation and manufacturing.
Product portfolio narrows strategically
Tesla’s product lineup itself is evolving in line with broader strategic shifts. The company has effectively discontinued its Model S and Model X in 2026, narrowing its automotive portfolio to the Model 3, Model Y and the forthcoming Cybertruck as it pivots part of its long-term focus towards artificial intelligence, robotics and autonomous transport technologies.
Competition remains a central theme of the evolving Tesla story. Since 2025 Chinese manufacturers such as BYD lead global EV deliveries, and traditional automakers such as Volkswagen are increasing their footprint in European electrification, intensifying pressure on Tesla’s core customer segments.
Labour relations create additional pressures
Beyond sales performance, tensions have also surfaced over labour relations. Tesla recently filed a criminal complaint against a union representative at its German factory, illustrating friction between management and employees even as the company strives to stabilise production and delivery operations.
Analyst ratings and technical analysis of the Tesla share price
Analysts are broadly split on Tesla, with around half having a ‘strong buy’ or ‘buy’ rating and the other half a ‘hold’, ‘sell’ or even ‘strong sell’ rating, averaging a long-term consensus price target of $392.70, implying around 8% downside from current levels as of 12 February 2026, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.